Veteran Shaw expected to play for GWS in 2020

It would be a surprise if Greater Western Sydney veteran Heath Shaw chose not to play on next season, according to his manager Ben Niall.

Shaw earlier in the year said he would retire if the Giants won the premiership, but fell four quarters short of that plan coming to fruition.

After his team’s humiliating 89-point loss to Richmond in the grand final, the 33-year-old was adamant he would play on in 2020.

And while GWS are happy to have him patrolling their backline again as they aim to go one step further next year, Shaw is using his time away from the club post-season to mentally recharge before accepting the one-year deal offered to him.

Heath Shaw (right) was a stand-out for the Giants in the AFL grand final. Credit:AAP

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“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t go on [for] one more [season], put it that way, given how they’re in the [premiership] window and how well his body’s holding up and how he’s recovering and the fact that they [GWS] are moving a few players out,” Niall told SEN on Friday.

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Adam Tomlinson has already joined Melbourne, Jon Patton has requested a trade to Hawthorn while youngster Aiden Bonar is open to a move back to Victoria if a deal can be facilitated.

“His body is good but it’s more the mental side ... doing a pre-season and climbing that mountain again,” Niall said of Shaw.

Since leaving Collingwood for the Giants at the end of 2013, Shaw has been a durable player, missing just eight of a possible 143 games and playing a career-high 26 matches this season. He was one of a handful of players who could hold their head high on grand final day this year.

Shaw, the son of former Collingwood star Ray Shaw, also played 173 games for the Magpies for a career tally of 308 matches in 16 seasons.

Niall said Shaw hadn’t been given a deadline by GWS for his decision on whether he wanted to extend his AFL career into a 17th campaign or not.